


Symbiosis: Reload

by crispyCh0colate



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: 9 years after NWHS, Dystopia, Horror, LGBT Themes, M/M, Manipulation, Mental Illness, Multi, Strong Language, Torture, older!Pines
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-22
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-15 13:12:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5786458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crispyCh0colate/pseuds/crispyCh0colate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nine years after being taken home by the government agents, both Dipper and Mabel Pines find each other in very different places. While trying to find their way back to their original state, one must face an unpleasant truth while the other has to seperate right from wrong.  This is a story told in three arcs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Arc I: Shooting Star I

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is. The first chapter of _Symbiosis: Reload_.  
>  I have been very excited to start posting this. I do not have a set upload schedule, so friday probably won't be the update day but we'll see!
> 
> This story is darker than my usual ones but it probably won't be horribly unbearable to read, since I can't stand too much torture myself. Just a fair warning! 
> 
> This is arc I: Of Shooting Stars and Pine Trees.
> 
> Kudos to my editor: [emberglows](http://www.emberglows.tumblr.com)  
> And Phi who helped a lot with some of the provided art!

**Entry 1**

  
User: ShiningStar  
Date: Wednesday 11th July, 2021

Hi there! My name is Mabel. My girlfriend said I shouldn’t include my name, but she’s just being a paranoid buzzkill. The reason why I’m even writing this is pretty silly anyways, but I felt it could be helpful to get feedback from you. 

I guess I should give you some basic information about myself first. I’m a 22 year old girl, living on the West Coast in the USA. Paz is gonna kill me if I say the name of my town, so that’s all you’re gonna get, sorry. (Paz is my girlfriend btw, but I think you figured that out yourself.) Okay, I keep rambling, but I should probably explain why I’m writing this in the first place. I thought it would be stupid to type out all of this, because I’m preeetty sure I was just overreacting, but... Well, that was until tonight. But let me start from the beginning before I get too cryptic.

Alright so, like already mentioned, I live in a pretty remote town. I’m going to college here and majoring in fashion design, where I also met my girlfriend. Nothing much ever happens here. In fact, it’s pretty peaceful. There’s almost no crime or weird people and everyone is nice to each other. Sure, there are some bullies here and there, but we’re mostly a really open and friendly community. I also have a very good connection to my parents. All in all, I’m probably the luckiest girl on earth! Haha, except for Paz because I’m her girlfriend ;) I really should stop talking about this, I’m sorry (not really). Anyways!

Today something strange happened... I found a note. (Well, that in itself isn’t very strange, since I sometimes leave notes for myself to remember something or similar things.) But this note was different. I found it in my locker at school after I had been in the library. I didn’t remember putting it there, and no one else had access to my locker. There were absolutely no signs of a break in either. Everything was just as it was supposed to be, except for the note. Now, there wasn’t even anything special about it. It was a normal piece of paper, folded twice. Naturally, I immediately read it. Could’ve been a secret admirer maybe, although that would have been a bit creepy. But no. All it read was ‘Gravity Falls’. 

I had absolutely no idea what that meant. I’d never heard of Gravity Falls before. I had zero clue what it could possibly be. The first thing I did was ask Paz about it, but she just brushed it off, saying she didn’t know anything about it either and that it was probably just a weird joke. Of course, I wasn’t satisfied with that answer! SO I did research. Serious business! (Okay, I Googled.) Turns out, Gravity Falls is apparently a small town all the way up in Oregon. It appears to be a lumber town that used to be populated by a few hundred people but is now classified as a ghost town. That’s weird enough. Why would someone leave me a note like this? What am I supposed to do with this information? Well, naturally I thought visiting the place would be a great idea. It was only a three hour drive, pshhh nothing big! When I asked Paz if she wanted to come as well she declined though, saying I should focus on my studies instead of visiting some weird ass ghost town just because a note seemed to suggest that. But I know that it would kill me not to know what that was about. My parents weren’t very happy either when I asked them if I could take their car, which was a bit disappointing. (In the end they said yes, though.)

I know, I know! Maybe it was a very impulsive act. But I’ve never been to a ghost town and this was the perfect opportunity, even if it was only to humour the note. In fact, I’d already forgotten about the weirdness of it while planning my trip. Of course I packed my camera and notebooks as well as some food and a knife. You never know. Maybe someone crazy just wanted to lure me out of town. 

At around 3 pm I started driving. I should have arrived at Gravity Falls at about 6 pm. The drive was boring and there wasn't much outside to watch, except a whole lot of forest. Man, I bet you’re all very excited for what I found in the town! I sure was.

Too bad I never made it there. Wait, what? ‘But Mabel! How can that be? Surely you followed the GPS or map?’ Of course I did. And that is exactly why I am writing this entry in the first place. After driving for about four hours on the road I’d made sure was the one that was supposed to lead right through Gravity Falls, I was still stuck in the forest. There was nothing. Night was falling when I decided to turn back around and go back. But here’s the thing that creeps me out the most... It only took me half an hour to reach my city again. 

Thinking about this makes me feel incredibly weird. Was it some kind of ‘glitch in the Matrix’ situation? I’ve heard of those, but never really took them too seriously. But I swear on everything that is holy (like purple kittens!) that I’m not making this up! I’d been going hours on end through that dumb forest road, yet made it back in less than an hour after turning around? That’s pretty much impossible! Maybe I was in some kind of trance while driving back? I guess it was getting dark... Also, don’t worry - I didn’t see any creepy white ghosts standing at the edge of the road or something stupid like that. It was literally just this situation. I have to admit, I’m still a little freaked out. Paz didn’t believe me, which upsets me even more. She just said my imagination was playing a trick on me. And I know I’ve made up a lot of weird stuff for a 22 year old, but I couldn’t come up with something as strange as this. 

Oh well. I’ll probably just try to forget about it. It might have just been a dumb joke after all! If you know anything about what this could mean, though, please let me know. 

I’ll update this if anything else peculiar happens, although I’m pretty sure this was a one time thing. Something worth sharing anyways.

Thank you for reading! Have a great night :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw here's a nifty playlist I made: [Playlist](https://8tracks.com/crispych0colate/symbiosis-reload)
> 
> Please leave a comment if you enjoyedd it so far! I love feedback! Stay tuned for the next update.


	2. Arc I: Shooting Star II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty. Update schedule! Symbiosis:Reload will update on wednesdays in the future! =)
> 
> Kudos to my editor: [emberglows](http://www.emberglows.tumblr.com)  
> 

**Entry 2**

  
User: ShiningStar  
Date: Wednesday 18th July, 2021

Hello there! I know it’s been like a week since I last posted, but I read all comments I got regardless. To be honest, I didn’t expect that I’d have to make another post. I really thought this was just a one time weird occurrence, haha. Well, obviously it was not! But before I explain what happened, I wanted to thank user Eloo39 for sharing a map of the area with me. I did look at Google Earth for clues, but all I could find was forest where Gravity Falls was supposed to be. It turns out the town was completely taken over by the trees, so it was hard to spot. Eloo39 found an older map, showing that the road I had been on was the right one. That still doesn’t explain what exactly happened, but I now know that I’ll have to try again and maybe even get off the road. But first things first!

I’m seriously starting to think that someone has actual access to my locker. Sure, it could be possible to maybe slip pieces of paper through the door (even if I kind of doubt it!), but this time I found a book in there!! Yes, a book. And a big one at that. And now hold your horses. It’s a book about all kinds of weird creatures. It looks really old, has a red leather case and a cut-out of a golden six-fingered hand with a ‘2’ written on it. 

I’m so confused... Where did this come from and what am I supposed to do with it? I checked the library and this book is definitely not from there. There’s not even an ISBN code anywhere. It appears to be handwritten too. Maybe it’s self-made? Though that still doesn’t explain why someone wanted me to have this. There’s a lot of things in there that have been crossed out, too, or pages that are ripped. Some even seem to be singed. Most of it is really just a collection of weird fantasy creatures with some descriptions. Almost as if someone had really studied this. Maybe it’s for some kind of art project? I am the vice president of the art club, after all. But why not give it to the president instead? And why hide it in my locker? Very mysterious! Yes, I already asked around school, but no one seemed to know what it was or whom it belonged to.

On top of that, Paz said I should just throw it away. I don’t know what’s going on with her nowadays. We’ve been happy for over two years with no complications, but now she’s starting to get really mean and dismissive about everything that’s happening. I mean, maybe I’m digging too deep into this, but who wouldn’t? I love mysteries!! I just can’t help myself and it’s really disheartening to know your own girlfriend doesn’t support you. I already made us matching Mystery Hunter sweaters :(

Oh! I almost forgot to mention that I received a new piece of paper just today. I got the book about three days ago, so this is new information. I couldn’t make much of it, though. There’s literally just a triangle on the paper, nothing else. I tried the trick where you can hold paper over flames to see if there’s invisible ink involved, but I only managed to burn my hand. So that was a failure. Don’t worry though, it’s not too bad! 

Silliness aside, I think I know what I have to do next. Like already mentioned in the beginning, I’ll try to go back and find this town one more time. I will definitely take my camera and this strange book I found with me, hopefully getting to bring back some pictures. I’m going to go on Saturday, during the weekend. Maybe I’ll make it a camping trip! Paz says she won’t come, but that’s not going to hold me back. I’m definitely getting to the bottom of this, with or without her help. I’ll write another update once I’m back! See you! :D

 

 

**Entry 3**

  
User: ShiningStar  
Date: Friday 20th July 2021, 1:05 pm

Hey. I know it’s only Friday today and I haven’t actually started my trip yet. It’s just… something happened that I wanted to tell you beforehand. I’m starting to get a little creeped out about this. I know it may sound stupid and you might not believe me, but I have the feeling that someone’s watching me. It started the evening after I wrote my last entry and it just hasn’t stopped. Whenever I look around I can’t see anyone or anything... But that’s not the only weird thing.

Triangles have started to appear all over town. I’m being serious! They are etched into trees or spray painted on building walls. Sometimes they have eyes. And I swear to god I’m not making this up, but the eyes seem to follow you around. No one else seems to be bothered by this, though! Paz even said she never really saw one?! I’m so confused!

Just a few minutes ago I almost ran into a tree, with one of those things staring right at me. I also get new papers each day with the same weird symbol on it. I don’t know what this is supposed to mean. Maybe someone is trying to scare me? But I won’t let them. I’m going through with my plan, no matter what. Alright, I’ve finished packing the car. I’ll keep you guys up to date. Sorry for the short update.

If I don’t reply anymore call the police, haha. JK!! 

 

**Entry 4**

  
User: ShiningStar  
Date: Friday 20th July 2021, 8:35 pm

 _Qfjb fp xk fiirpflk qeb rkfsbopb fp x elildoxj_  
_dlia zxk'q ebim vlr xkvjlob_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [To crack codes use this website](http://themysteryofgravityfalls.com/)


	3. Arc I: Pine Tree I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to see what the heck Dipper is up to :)
> 
> Kudos to my editor: [emberglows](http://www.emberglows.tumblr.com)  
> 

Leaves crunched beneath Dipper Pines' feet as he slowly made his way through the familiar, and yet foreign, terrain. He took a deep breath before letting it out in a long drawn-out sigh, watching the cloud of his breath swirling in the air before vanishing. It was much colder than he had expected and the young man had to pull his jacket a bit tighter around his body. It was still autumn, but Oregon was already way ahead with the freezing temperatures. At least there was no snow yet.

It had been roughly nine years since Dipper had last seen this forest, yet it seemed like an eternity. He almost felt displaced, like he didn’t belong here. The deeper he walked into the woods, the more he felt like he should turn and run back to the street where the bus had left him, but he kept his gaze ahead, determined to make it to the small town he had spent that dreadful summer in. That summer that had cost him his sister. He could still remember the government agents taking their great uncle away for building a doomsday device. He could almost still hear Mabel’s pleading voice to go back and help their uncle but the boy had refused, not seeing why he should risk his life for someone that was prone to cheating his way through life. How could he trust him after all the things he had witnessed Stanford Pines doing? 

Dipper felt his heart ache and he needed to stop and lean against a tree as he felt his throat tighten, making it hard for him to breathe properly. Tears stung in his eyes and he had to blink multiple times to get rid of them. He could not have an episode now. He refused to be this weak after only half an hour of being here. He took ten deep breaths, thankfully managing to calm himself down before it went too far. He needed to stop thinking about the past so much.

Five minutes passed before the young man continued his hike through the dense forest, hardly managing to find a clear path. He wondered what had happened in those years he was away. The bus driver had told him that Gravity Falls was completely abandoned, but could this really be the truth? Could an entire lumbertown be abandoned in only nine years? He didn’t really want to believe it, but so far all signs pointed towards this being true. 

The sun was starting to sink below the horizon when Dipper found the edge of the forest that revealed the main road, leading to Gravity Falls. He didn’t know why, but he felt dread starting to crawl through him as he looked down the road. There were multiple cracks in the asphalt and vegetation had started to take over, showing that no vehicle had passed here in awhile. Even the birds had stopped singing, although Dipper figured this was because it was starting to grow dark. He’d better hurry up. The young man walked along the middle of the road, his hands clutching the straps of the backpack he carried. He felt nervous and even more out of place. 

He felt as if reality was starting to distort, making him dizzy and sick. White dots danced in front of his eyes and the ground seemed to move in waves while his vision started to blur. There was no logical explanation for why he was feeling this ill, and panic started to grip his heart again. He took another step forward, but tumbled to the ground, lying on his side for a while and breathing heavily. There was a weight on his chest and he wanted to throw up. What if the air was poisoned? What if there had been a natural catastrophe that erased every form of life and now he was walking right into a hostile, if not deadly, environment?

You need to go a little further.

Dipper didn’t know if he imagined the soft whisper in his ear or not. Maybe he was already going insane. Maybe he was dying. He couldn’t even remember what exactly the voice sounded like, mere seconds after hearing it, but for some reason he knew it was right. With a groan, he pushed himself back onto his feet and started walking forward again, despite the shaking of the ground... And then the feeling was gone. 

No more sickness, no more dizziness. He felt perfectly fine. 

But then, his stomach dropped into his knees for a different reason. The sky should have been dark by now with stars overhead. Instead, it was a deep crimson colour. Granted, there were still stars visible, but the colour was just unnatural, and when Dipper cast a glance at his smartphone to check the time, its digital clock had turned into all zeros. Not to mention that there was no connection signal at all. 

“Well, this is starting to get weird,” Dipper mumbled to himself but decided to go on anyways. Going back probably meant he would have to suffer through the disturbing feeling of sickness again, since he figured this was some kind of shield even if he couldn’t explain how it worked. It was probably some form of strong magic. 

If the forest had been quiet before, now it was buzzing with strange noises that made Dipper jump every few minutes. No animal he’d ever encountered would make such noises, and he couldn’t quite remember all the different supernatural creatures he had met here nine years ago. Finally he reached the treeline, but what he saw wasn’t exactly encouraging. Gravity Falls still existed, but it seemed vacant. 

The town was empty and vegetation had started to reclaim the area. There were cracks in the main road that led right through the town and, when Dipper followed it, he noticed shadows moving in some buildings. He felt incredibly uneasy but didn’t dare to explore any of the houses. There was no way that whatever was living here now was human. He could’ve sworn he heard some kind of deep growl coming out of an entrance on his left side, so he ran down the street that would lead him to an intersection. He needed to get to the Mystery Shack as soon as possible.

While a part of him was actually really interested in what kind of paranormal phenomena was happening here, he was mostly filled with anxiety. He wondered if it had been a terrible decision to return, and if he could even still leave after what he’d seen. 

But most of all, he wondered if Mabel was here somewhere. This hope still kept him moving. If he pretended hard enough, he could just imagine her in front of the Mystery Shack, playing with her pet pig Waddles when everything had still been relatively normal and happy.

The day she had disappeared had been one of the darkest days in Dipper’s life, as were the months that followed. Not long after they had been returned back home by the government agents, Mabel had started to act weird. She grew silent and there was a certain restlessness about her that Dipper never quite understood. She gradually drifted away from him, and almost shut him out completely when he tried to talk to her. Their parents weren’t much help, either. Of course they noticed something was wrong with their girl, but no doctor was able to help.

Then, on their fourteenth birthday, she vanished. Dipper remembered sitting alone in front of a cake meant for two and his parents talking to police officers. They kept searching the area for two weeks but no trace of Mabel was ever found, except for one shoe. They said it was unlikely that they would find her and that they shouldn’t get their hopes up.

Dipper started dreaming about various ways he could have lost Mabel. There was a river close to their home. And a bridge on the other side of town. Maybe she’d taken a rope and went to the woods. He saw her everywhere and it was always the same terrible pictures in his mind.

When he started to develop mental health issues, his parents were exasperated. They didn’t know what to do. One child was missing and the other was suffering greatly from the loss. He was put on medication for a while, but that only made him sicker. He started to develop insomnia and his grades in school fell. 

When he turned eighteen, his dreams changed. Something deep within him called him back to the lumber town they had left so long ago. He could feel that Mabel was still alive, even when no one else seemed to think so. They were siblings... Twins, even. That was a greater connection than anyone else could ever understand, unless they had a twin themselves. Dipper had researched some Nigerian legends about twins, that partially confirmed the deep connection he was feeling.

At the age of nineteen he stopped taking his medication. At first, he got worse very fast, but eventually managed to pull himself together and reduce the amount of episodes he experienced every week, until it was only once or twice a month. His parents were pleased to see that he was doing better and even graduated with a passable grade. They were not so pleased when they heard his plans to return to Gravity Falls.

No one had heard a single word from Grunkle Stan in all those years, so they weren’t sure what to make of Dipper’s idea. They wanted him to go study and live his life to leave the past in the past, but Dipper knew that this wasn’t an option for him. He would never get better if he didn’t do this. 

So he left without a word, in the dead of the night when his parents were sleeping. He felt bad, but not bad enough to change his plans. 

Now he regretted his decision, though. He had followed an almost overgrown dirt road that he recognized as the one leading to the Mystery Shack. The strange and unwelcome energy surrounding him grew the closer he got to the Shack, and he felt as if he should run as far away as possible. He could almost see the roof through the trees, or so he thought at least. 

Then a hand came out from behind him and draped firmly over his mouth. He tried to register what was going on, as adrenaline pumped through his body and made him struggle violently. The person, whoever it was, was trying to pull him into the treeline and he tried his hardest to fight back, even going as far as to bite the other.

“Hahaha, that’s hilarious... Calm down, Pine Tree!!”

A sob escaped Dipper at that, and he went so limp that the stranger had to steady him with his other arm. That name... He hadn’t been called by that name in such a long time, and unpleasant memories flooded back into him, rendering him completely vulnerable. Surprisingly enough, as soon as they had passed a few trees, the grip the stranger had on him loosened, and grew almost soft.

“Boy, sure haven’t seen you in a while. I see you’re doing terrible,” the voice half-huffed, half-laughed into his ear. Dipper knew exactly who it was, even if the uncanny usual echo to his voice was missing. He felt cold and just wanted to get away from Bill Cipher. He didn’t care to find out why the demon was a human. He didn’t care about any of that; Bill was a bad omen, no matter what form he took.

“Leave me the fuck alone!” Dipper screamed, reaching back to push at Bill’s chest and finally broke free, starting to run away again without even looking at him once. Maybe if he didn’t see him, he could pretend he wasn’t real. Yes, that seemed plausible. 

“Wait! Dipper! You’re making a mistake!” Bill shouted after him, but Dipper didn’t reply. He just ran and ran into the direction of the Shack. He could see the structure of the building now, but before he reached it, his foot struck something and he tumbled to the ground, knees hitting the floor and face almost smashing against a stone. Luckily he managed to bring his arms up and stop his fall short.

“You damn idiot, look what you’ve done! Don’t be so reckless,” Bill’s voice hissed at him. He had apparently caught up and was now kneeling down next to Dipper. The boy hid his face in his arms; he didn’t want to look.

“Stop hiding and look at me!!” Bill growled before grabbing Dipper’s hair, pulling hard and forcing Dipper to turn around.

Bill didn’t look anything like Dipper had expected. He was young. Probably around his own age, maybe only a bit older. One of his eyes was black with a bright blue slitted pupil, while the other was the bright yellow he used to see in his nightmares sometimes. He had dark hair except for a yellow undercut on the left side of his face. Bill Cipher looked like an average college student.

“Tch. You’re disturbing him,” Bill muttered, his expression surprisingly frustrated. It was only now that Dipper saw what exactly he had tripped over. There was a rather curious looking stone near his feet that stuck out of the air, and next to it stood a simple wooden cross. The colour from Dipper’s face drained and he turned to look at Bill.

“What is this?” he asked, feeling like the words would be stuck in his throat.

Bill didn’t reply at first, just looked down at the cross, expression unreadable. Then he slowly turned to look down at Dipper, his eyes flaming with anger. The young man quickly got back up on his feet, trying to ignore his shaking legs.

Bill made a noise that was something akin to a displeased grunt before speaking up.

“I take it you returned to visit family? Say hello to your dear grunkle Stan!”


	4. Arc I: Shooting Star III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And back to Mabel. Sorry, no relief for last chaps cliffhanger yet :)
> 
> Kudos to my editor: [emberglows](http://www.emberglows.tumblr.com)  
> 

**Entry 5**

  
User: ShiningStar  
Date: Saturday 22rd July, 2021

Uhm. Hello guys.

I think the first thing I’m going to address here is the last message. I swear I didn’t send that. I still haven’t even figured out what that is trying to say yet. I’m pretty certain it is some kind of code, but I really don’t know which one. 

Then again, I haven’t really been able to concentrate. I’m too disturbed by the things I’ve encountered this weekend. To give some context: I just came back home about two hours ago and saw the message. There was no reception out there in the wilderness, just as expected. But there were certainly a few other, not-expected things. 

Let me start with the most important information:  
I didn’t find the town. It appears that it has been literally swallowed by the earth. There were a few remains that looked like they could have belonged to houses and a really, really overgrown road. I almost didn’t see it until I actually stepped on the hard surface. It really freaked me out at first.

‘Ok but if the town didn’t exist, why did you stay away for two days, huh, Mabel?’ ...That’s the thing you’re probably asking yourself, right?!

The answer to that is simple: I got fucking lost. Excuse the language, but that’s really what happened. And... oh god. It was so terrifying. I couldn’t find my car anymore after I ventured a bit into the forest. No matter which direction I took I only found more trees. The sun was almost gone when I stumbled onto the damn ghost road. Good thing I brought my tent with me.

Of course I wasn’t scared!! Haha, I’m an adventurer. Adventurers aren’t scared, not even when they hear creepy whispering and other noises in the dark. Or see shadows walking past their tent. Humanoid ones.

Yeah, needless to say I didn’t get much sleep that day. Nothing attacked my tent, but I did see a yellow light shining through the trees. I didn’t go to investigate though. Something told me that probably wouldn’t be such a smart idea.

Fast forward to the next day. I kept walking through the forest, hoping to find my way back to the car. I had no signal, of course, and even my digital clock was going haywire. It only showed 00:00 the entire time. I won’t bore you with countless hours of nothing happening, so I will sum up what exactly I found:

1\. Some very rundown ruins of a few buildings that were almost indistinguishable.  
2\. Weird artefacts littering the floor, like pieces of a shattered amulet. I think it might be the one mentioned in the journal I got. It was supposed to grant the wearer telepathic powers. Too bad it was broken.  
3\. A grave. Not kidding. The disturbing part is that it seemed relatively new. As if someone tended to it. I didn’t inspect it further.

That’s it. Nothing that really gave me any clue as to why the heck I was supposed to come here. Maybe someone just really, really wants to scare the heck out of me. I really hope that’s the case. Anyways, I had to spend another night in the creepy forest because I still hadn’t found my way back to the car, as if someone had hidden it! Or something was keeping me trapped in the area.

Today was the worst day. I got woken up by voices outside my tent. I felt so freaked out. Even though the sun was already up, I couldn’t see ANYONE outside, but I could clearly hear two voices talking. I couldn’t understand what exactly they were saying. It was like they spoke a different language, although they didn’t. It’s really hard to explain, I’m still trying to wrap my own head around it.

One of the voices sounded sad, though. Sad and… desperate. It made my heart ache so bad I started crying. I don’t know why- I just... 

I’m sorry. It’s really hard to stay cheery. But I’ll try.

Alright, the worst part was stepping out of the tent. I was still feeling like there was another presence with me and I guess I was a bit nervous about walking right into them when I got out. But there was no one there. The only thing I really noticed was that the world seemed greyer than usual. The sun was shining, but the forest seemed dull and colourless. 

I packed up my tent and sleeping back and was just starting to walk back when _qeb qobbp dobt bvbp. Qebv lmbkba tfab, xii xq lkzb, pqxofkd afobzqiv xq jb._

I screamed and started running and running, trying not to look back until I (finally!!!!) reached my car!

I didn’t even waste much time, I just slammed all of my things into the backseat before getting inside and starting the engine. It didn’t want to work at first, it took a few tries for it to start up. It was then that I looked into the rearview mirror and almost passed out.

Sitting there, in the backseat, for about a second, was… me? I think it was me. The person looked kind of like me, but also different, and they looked like they came straight out of a zombie movie. Maybe they were the one in the grave? The apparition was missing their eyes and had terrible wounds all over, while their skin looked sickly. I felt sick, too, but when I did a double take, they were gone.

Shit, sorry, my hands are shaking. I think I just want to forget everything I’ve seen this weekend now. I’ll listen to Paz and not investigate this further. Whatever happened - and I don’t care if you believe any of this or not - I don’t want anything to do with this anymore.

Thanks for reading and commenting, anyways. I’m sorry if I made some of you curious now, but this is something I don’t think I should look into further.

Bye bye!!

 

**Comments:**

**Eloo39:** _Qll ixqb ql dl yxzh._

**Eloo39:** _Vlr kbsbo exa x zelfzb fk qeb cfopq mixzb._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [To crack codes use this website](http://themysteryofgravityfalls.com/)


	5. Arc I: Pine Tree II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More questions are being asked than answered.
> 
> Kudos to my editor: [emberglows](http://www.emberglows.tumblr.com)  
> 

“You’re lying!” Dipper screamed at the top of his lungs, barely noticing that Bill almost flinched. He had jumped back up onto his feet and was advancing on the demon, who was standing his ground, holding Dipper’s angry stare.

“What did you do to my uncle?!” Dipper added and shoved Bill harshly, making him stumble backwards and almost fall to the ground. 

“Me?! I didn’t do shit to the good old Stanley! You were the one that all up and fucking left when you were needed. How dare you suggest this is my fault, you don’t even know anything, Pine Tree!” Bill yelled back, now looking enraged. He steadied himself and got back up in Dipper’s face, who was now more confused than angry. Definitely still angry enough to punch Bill straight in the jaw, though. 

Bill cried out, his hand coming up to touch where he’d been hit, eyes wide. Dipper was breathing hard and his hands trembled, still balled into fists. He felt adrenaline surge through him and it took a great deal not to punch Bill again. It had felt too good. He didn’t know how, or why, the demon was physical now, but it felt good to be able to finally repay him for all the nightmares and hallucinations he’d suffered through for the past nine years. “Never call me Pine Tree ever again,” he hissed, while Bill was still trying to figure out what happened.

“You entitled little brat; you don’t know what you’re doing!” Bill shot back, angrily. If Dipper didn’t know better, he’d think he’d saw a little bit of hurt in the demon’s eyes. His head was spinning. Nothing made sense. Why was Bill like this? Why was his great uncle dead? Was he really here or was this a dream? He swallowed hard, feeling himself dissociate. 

Suddenly Bill looked panicked at something behind him and lurched forward, grabbing Dipper’s wrist before starting to run.

“Come on, we need to leave!” he said but Dipper dug his heels into the ground, refusing to move. There was no way in hell he was going anywhere with Bill Cipher. With a swift motion, he pulled his hand free from Bill’s grip, stumbling a few steps backwards and away from him again, spitting out a “fuck you!” in the process. Bill’s eyes started to glow dangerously and it seemed he was about to lash out, but then he glanced at something behind Dipper again. After a moment of hesitation he ran off, back into the darker parts of the forest.

Dipper breathed heavily, blood rushing in his ears, while anger and panic made his vision blur. He wasn’t able to think clearly; he felt himself slipping again and blamed the dream demon for bringing him back into this state. He’d worked so hard to become a rational human being again.

Why had he come here? He was going to make everything worse again... This was a mistake.

A hand gripped his shoulder hard, and he let out a startled scream.

“Woah, hey, relax! I’m not going to hurt you, kid.” The voice behind him sounded deep with a slight rasp to it, but not unkind. Dipper whipped around, coming face to face with a man that looked like his great uncle Stanford. He looked back at the grave, then back to the man again. In the next moment he blacked out.

\---

Dipper woke up, covered in cold sweat and sitting up straight. He gasped for air, feeling the walls closing in on him. Walls. He was inside a house. Not just any house; he recognized the structure of the room as the living quarters of the Mystery Shack. Upon further investigation, he also recognized that he was lying on the sleeping armchair he and his sister had once shared to watch dumb cartoons like Ducktective. He was covered with a thin blanket, or at least had been, until he had knocked it off.

Dipper couldn’t remember what nightmare had haunted him this time. He barely ever remembered them. The sheer nostalgic feelings this place held managed to help him calm down and he leaned back in the chair, relaxing. He almost wished he could have his meds back, to get himself back under control again, but in the long run he knew they wouldn’t help. 

After calming down for a few minutes, he slipped off the armchair, looking around for his backpack. It stood next to the chair and he bent down to look through it. The floorboards behind him creaked.

“I see you’re awake... You have some explaining to do, kid. Where did you get this?” Dipper tensed up again and slowly stood, turning around to face the familiar and yet strange man. At least this time, he was sure he wasn’t a ghost or something like that. His heart dropped, though, when he saw that the guy was holding up Journal Three with a stern expression. 

Dipper took a moment to examine him a bit closer before answering. The man looked like Stan, except that he wore glasses and at second glance his hairstyle looked a little different as well. The most obvious difference was his voice though. Not-Stan also wore clothes that his great uncle would never choose to wear. A dark purple turtleneck sweater and a black cloak that almost reached the floor and looked like it was ripped right out of a dystopian movie setting. He had matching black boots that were a similar fashion and some grey pants that matched the sweater more than the rest.

“I’ll tell you once you explain who the hell you are, why you’re here, why you look like Grunkle Stan, and why the hell Bill CIpher is scared of you!” Dipper eventually answered, questions suddenly flowing out of him like a waterfall. And here he’d almost thought words had left him forever. Nope, he was still as curious as ever.

The older man seemed surprised by this triad of questions as well, blinking behind his glasses before starting to laugh. It wasn’t an unfriendly laugh and something about it soothed Dipper’s suspicions. Although, it might have been the fact that he looked like his uncle, too. 

“I didn’t know I had a nephew. This is a surprise, but not an unpleasant one at all. Now that you mention it, I knew you looked kind of familiar.” The man spoke, only making Dipper more curious. Then it seemed to click.

“Grunkle Stan had a twin!” he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.

“You’re catching on fast. Say, how about you tell me your name and then we can sit down at the table to talk. I think there are a lot of things we need to set straight. Plus you look like you could use something to drink.” the older man offered with a warm smile. Only then did Dipper notice that his throat felt too dry for comfort.

“Uh, yeah, sure. My name’s Dipper Pines.” he offered and followed Stan’s twin into the kitchen after he had nodded. He sat down at the table while the man prepared a glass of water, setting it in front of him. He picked it up and quickly drank a bit, watching the other man sit down opposite of him. 

“Alright, Dipper. That’s a peculiar name. My name is Stanford Pines, and it is very nice to meet you. Although, the circumstances of our meeting do worry me a bit,” Stanford said.

Dipper set down the glass and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Wait, wait. You’re Stanford? But, Great Uncle Stan was also called Stanford... Or could your parents just not think of a second name?” he asked with a frown.

Stanford blinked and laughed again, his raspy deep laugh. “No, I’m afraid my brother Stanley took my identity after I… after I got lost in another dimension. I don’t know why he did it; I guess we’ll both never know now. But I still need to know why you had my journal,” Ford said, sounding more serious now.

A lot of puzzle pieces seemed to fall into place in Dipper’s head. The person in front of him, his second great uncle that he’d never known of, was the author of the journal he’d held close to him like a Bible. He was related to The Author... Dipper didn’t know what to think of this.

“I found it… in the woods, close to the Shack, when I was twelve. I studied every last page of it and the mysteries of this town, until… well, until Stan was arrested by the government agents. Me and Mabel were sent home,” he explained. Saying Mabel’s name almost hurt.

“Mabel?” Stanford asked, with a slight frown, and Dipper nodded.

“She’s my twin sister. But... she vanished. I’m here to look for her,” he quickly said, not wanting to go into detail. Realization seemed to light up in Ford’s eyes and, for a moment, Dipper was hopeful that maybe he knew something about Mabel’s disappearance.

“I know how you must feel. Losing your twin is the worst feeling,” Ford said instead, and Dipper couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

“How did Stan die, anyways?” he asked quietly, looking into his half empty glass of water. He tried to remember the nice times he’d had with his grunkle, before the mistrust had begun blooming in his chest. He still felt terrible for leaving him to die, though. He’d not do the same mistake with Mabel, if she was even still alive.

“Bill Cipher,” Ford replied with a growl, eyebrows knit together in an angry expression. Dipper’s head snapped back up and he stared at his new uncle.

“Bill killed Stan? But… why?! I mean, I know he’s evil, but I don’t think he ever showed interest in my grunkle,” Dipper pointed out, feeling stupid for kind of defending the demon. 

“So I see you know him. I expected such, since I overheard part of your conversation yesterday, but I didn’t know how well you know each other. I better start from the beginning.” Ford sighed and leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest. Dipper would very much appreciate hearing the entire story and thus he also relaxed, holding the glass of water in both hands.

Ford laid the journal down on the table in front of him and opened it right in the middle. This was one of the few pages Dipper had never managed to understand. It looked like a blueprint of some sort, but it was incomplete. He leaned closer as Ford pointed a finger at it.

“This was my biggest project. A portal that would open doors to many other dimensions. I worked years on this project, after moving to Gravity Falls, and I had help from my assistant Fiddleford McGucket.” Ford started to explain, and Dipper’s eyes grew wide.

“Old Man McGucket was your assistant?! That explains his memories from the Society of the Blind Eye,” he exclaimed, interrupting Ford. The man raised an eyebrow at him.

“You know about these loons?” he asked and Dipper snorted a bit, shrugging nonchalantly.

“Yeah. Me and my sister kind of disbanded them though. Took their own memories of the order. I kept the memory gun, just in case. Unless you stole that out of my backpack as well.” He sounded a little bitter at the last part.

“I’m sorry, I had to make sure you weren’t dangerous. Usually no one comes here for good reasons. But no, I didn’t take it out. That explains why it was in there, though. I see you’re a smart boy. I like that.” Ford hummed, sounding impressed. Dipper felt pride for the first time in years. He had impressed the Author of the journal - that was something to be happy about.

“Anyways, we built the portal. I will admit right now that I had also received help from Bill Cipher. It was the worst mistake I made in my life, but at one point I did make a deal with him. He was free to go in and out of my mind as he pleased, and in return, he would help me build the portal. He said he was a muse and that he had chosen me because I was so smart and capable. Of course, naive as I was, I listened to him. The portal was almost done when I found out that Bill’s true intentions were to use it to transfer into our world as physical entity and wreak havoc. I stopped working on the portal, but Bill still had access to my mindscape, and he tried to make me go insane. So I called the only person I knew I could trust. My brother.” Ford made a pause and Dipper tried to take in all of the information that he’d just been given.

So that’s why Ford knew about Bill, and that also explained how Gideon had been capable of summoning him with the help of the second Journal. He remembered the second one, only now starting to wonder where it had even vanished to after they’d defeated Gideon.

“I also got tricked by Bill once. He took control of my body, and I had to resort to using a sock puppet version of me as a vessel, until Mabel managed to defeat him with tickles and raw energy. Without her, I’d probably still be a sock.” He laughed a little, though he felt more like crying. Ford chuckled as well and reached out to pat the back of his hand a bit.

“Don’t worry. Bill tricked a lot of people in his lifetime. We might have made mistakes, but at least we learned from them,” Stanford said, making Dipper feel better. He was glad that Ford wasn’t disappointed about Dipper’s fuck up. 

“What happened next is my least favourite part of the story. My brother and I had a fight in the basement where the portal was. I had asked him to go hide the last journal. I’d already hidden the other two, but I wanted to make sure the last one got as far away from here as possible, since Bill could still trace my every step. But Stanley refused and blamed me for his miserable life, even though he prevented me from going to my dream college in the first place. But that doesn’t matter! What matters is that we fought and opened the portal in the process. He accidentally shoved me inside, and just before I vanished into the multiverse, I threw my journal to him. I spent thirty years wandering through different dimensions, fighting all sorts of monsters and meeting new friends and allies, until one day the portal opened again. But when I stepped outside, it collapsed, and I found Stanley dead on the ground with Bill in a human body standing over him. I had never thought Bill would resort to such measures… He’d always seemed more like a puppeteer than a murderer, but it appeared I had underestimated his desire to win.” Ford finished talking, idly flipping through the pages of his journal while Dipper tried to process everything he’d been told.

Ford had spent thirty years in the portal. After doing a little bit of math, Dipper figured that the doomsday device the agents had arrested Stan for must’ve been the portal. Did that mean that…?

“If Mabel and I had come back, we might’ve been able to save Stan and stop Bill! I can’t believe this,” he cried out in frustration, pulling at his hair until it hurt. He was at fault that Stan was dead now. 

“Didn’t you say you were twelve back then? I doubt you could’ve done much to save him, honestly. Bill had a physical form. He could have hurt you,” Stanford pointed out.

“Right. What’s up with that? I mean, he still has it. And why did he run away from you if he’s as dangerous as you say?” Dipper asked, trying not to think too much about the implications of Ford’s story.

“He had planned to rid himself of his body once the link between our worlds was established but I could act fast and I trapped him in this body of his, binding him to it. He still has some of his powers left but they are not strong or threatening. I have tried to get rid of him but he’s very good at escaping and I have more important things to do than to chase down a powerless demon.” Ford explained with a shrug, as if that wasn’t something totally impressive.

“How did you seal him to the body?!” Dipper asked, eyes wide.

“Magic. I have a special talent for dealing with magic and can cast some spells. It took me years to master some of them, since human bodies are not usually compatible. Maybe I can teach you... You’re my nephew after all; it is possible that you could possess the same properties needed to wield magic,” Ford said with an excited smile. It seemed the old man was just as enthusiastic about the prospect of teaching as Dipper was about potentially having the Author himself as teacher. He was so excited that he almost forgot the reason why he was here... Almost.

“I would love to, but first I need to search for my sister. That’s the reason I came here in the first place. I really need to get her back.” Dipper sighed, emptying the remaining glass of water down his throat.

“You might have a better chance of finding her if you stay with me. This place is rundown and abandoned, but I managed to produce some food and keep the Shack intact. How about it? I’ll help you find your sister; you’ll stay with me and help me with my studies,” Stanford offered. 

Dipper looked at Stanford, feeling torn between saying yes and no. There was still one important question that was unanswered... If Bill had been stopped before he could wreak havoc, then why was this place destroyed and abandoned?

The young man started to feel dizzy again, thinking about this. He held his forehead, trying to concentrate.

“Yes. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea,” he heard himself say, not sure if he’d even consciously made a decision. But Ford had already stood up and patted his back approvingly.

“Great! I have the feeling we’ll be a good team. It’s so good to know that I have at least a little bit of family left. We need to stick together, Dipper.” The old man hummed happily and Dipper nodded weakly.

He felt himself starting to agree. It had been his dream to meet the Author, after all. He’d have a much better chance at finding Mabel if he put his trust in Stanford Pines. He smiled back up at the man and felt the dizziness start to fade.


	6. Arc I: Pine Tree III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens.
> 
> Kudos to my editor: [emberglows](http://www.emberglows.tumblr.com)  
> 

“What is that?!” Dipper gasped as he stared at the giant rundown machine that loomed above him. The room was only illuminated by cold neon lights on either sides of the wall. Stanford had led him deep into the earth below the shack. As it had turned out, the vending machine in the gift shop was actually a hidden doorway, leading right into the earth with an elevator. There were three levels, but Ford had refused to tell him about the second level. He only stated it was his study and that it was private. Although it did irritate Dipper, he could understand why Stanford would want to keep his work private for now. They had barely gotten to know each other, after all.

“These are the remains of the portal. I’ve started recreating it but I was missing the last journal. Who knew you had it the entire time. I’d have gone insane looking for it!” Ford explained with a light chuckle. The man turned towards Dipper with a kind smile. “I can’t believe you found it and kept it so close to you all the time. You’re a smart young man,” the Author added, making Dipper feel a little bit embarrassed.

“Oh, well, it was important to me. It still is, I mean. But I never thought I’d actually get to meet the one who wrote it. I thought that maybe he was dead already,” he replied with a slight shrug. 

“Not dead, as you can see,” Ford replied, patting Dipper’s shoulder with a six-fingered hand. Dipper snorted and nodded, but tensed up a bit. Luckily Ford didn’t seem to notice; instead he turned back around to face the broken-down portal. Dipper walked up to him, putting his hands on his hips.

“So what are you planning to do with it? I thought you would have dismantled it by now,” Dipper asked, eyebrows knitted together.

“Dismantled it? No way! This is my life achievement. No, I’m going to rebuild it.” Ford answered. Dipper’s eyes widened and he turned his head to stare at Ford.

“Wait, what? I thought it was dangerous! Just because Bill’s not able to misuse it now, it could probably still open in a bad dimension, right?” the young man protested. He didn’t exactly know much about quantum physics and interdimensional theory, but from what he’d gathered, he had figured that the portal was a bad idea in general. When he had agreed to help Ford yesterday, he hadn’t expected to be helping him rebuild the very portal that ruined Ford’s life and, in the long run, killed Grunkle Stan.

“Yes, I know why you would think that. But don’t worry. I’ve got coordinates to a dimension I want to open that’s totally harmless. There’s no chance of something like Bill happening ever again... That is, if we keep him off our back. If the portal is restored, he might want to use it to get back to his home dimension and we can’t let that happen. So here’s what we’re gonna do: You help me rebuild the portal and keep Bill occupied. In exchange, I will help you research your sister’s disappearance,” Ford summarized their agreement from yesterday.

After they’d had their talk in the kitchen, Dipper had noticed how hungry he was and Stanford had revealed his apocalypse food stash. After eating something, Dipper had brought his belongings into his old room, where he had spent most of the day, writing in his own journal that he had started a few years ago. Although his wasn’t anything like Stanford’s; instead Dipper had started a dream diary, in which he wrote down and analyzed his dreams, trying to make sense out of them and hoping to find some clues as to what happened in his own psyche. He hadn’t come very far yet, though.

Stanford had told him he should rest, so that he’d be ready to start working in the morning. The night had been odd. He’d been full of melancholy and grief, and if he had dreamed something he couldn’t remember. 

“Yeah, I know. Sounds good. I agree. But how am I supposed to keep Bill off your back? I have no intention of meeting him again. Not if I can avoid it at least,” Dipper asked while rubbing his eyes. He was still a bit tired, but not too much.

Ford walked around the room, seemingly searching for something as he looked through different stacks of papers and other curious-looking gadgets that Dipper would love to inspect. “Well, he will return, that much is for sure. I’ve been working on a device that is supposed to absorb all the magic energy he has left, but it’s not quite done. I still need a few parts, but since the town is vacant, we have to search for everything ourselves. Can’t just go out and buy it, what a shame,” the man explained; not much later he made a triumphant noise, retrieving something that looked like a futuristic gun out from a drawer.

Dipper stepped closer, although he had a weird feeling about this. “So what do you need his magic for?” he asked while taking the gun that Ford offered him. He didn’t feel quite right holding it, yet he couldn’t explain why... He had no problem using the memory gun, after all.

“It will be the perfect power source to get the portal running flawlessly, once we rebuilt it. Of course, normal electricity could work as well, but this has a much higher rate of success, especially when it comes to opening up a rift. Bill’s magic is one of the strongest in the multiverse and could work as battery with almost infinite power, even just the little bit he has left! Plus, we’d get him off our back once and for all,” Stanford explained in an enthusiastic voice, gesturing wildly.

Dipper looked down at the device in his hand. The weapon was mostly black with magenta coloured lines running from the muzzle down the shaft and connecting to the trigger. Attached to the back of the gun was a small cylinder with a thin wire inside, which Dipper guessed was the part where the energy could be stored. He was still a little confused on how this would actually work, though.

“Hey, Dipper. Aim at that target and pull the trigger.” Ford hummed, making the young man look up and follow his gaze. He did spot a triangular shaped target at the far side of the wall and heaved a sigh but turned towards it, holding up the gun. He still felt off somehow, holding it, and he wasn’t at all in the mood to even shoot a target. 

It was true that Bill had traumatized him for most of his life and that he was absolutely ruthless and yet, Dipper couldn’t help but remember the panicked look in Bill’s eyes before he’d run off the other day. It just didn’t seem right to end up pointing a gun at him, especially since he was a human now. 

“Why do I have to do this?” Dipper asked, moving his arm back down.

Ford frowned and crossed his arms. “I just wanted to show you how exactly it works. Like I said, a few parts are still missing but the actual projectile works already. Never handled a gun before, boy? You’ll need to learn how. I hate to say it, but this place isn’t exactly the safest,” the older man explained.

Dipper shook his head and concentrated on the target again. He could feel a bad headache starting in the back of his head. Taking a shaky breath, he placed a finger on the trigger and fired.

The projectile pierced into the target at such a high velocity that the rebound made Dipper jerk backwards, pain rushing through his wrist. He cursed, shaking his arm. Stanford laughed at the action, but patted his other shoulder. “Good first try! At least you hit the target. So what’s supposed to happen is that the projectile releases a special energy that serves like a magnet for magic and fills up the battery attached to the end of it,” the man explained, though Dipper was only half-listening, still trying to get over the painful feeling in his arm.

“So how do you fix that problem? That sounds rather specific,” he huffed after a moment while looking back at the target. He certainly wouldn’t want to be hit by that. It looked more than just a little painful. Speaking of painful, Dipper noticed that the headache had stopped, much to his relief.

“I need you to find a unique metal located in a crashed spaceship farther up the hillside,” Stanford concluded. 

“Woah, woah! Hold on! An alien spacecraft? Here in Gravity Falls? And you want me to go in there?” Dipper gasped, not sure what to make of this information. Years ago, he would have been absolutely ecstatic at the chance to explore a spaceship. Now, though, the thought filled him with anxiety.

Stanford sighed and crossed his arms behind his back. “Yes. It crashlanded here at least ten thousand years ago and everything in there is long dead and deactivated. You most likely won’t have any troubles down there, so don’t worry,” he said and Dipper wondered if he was annoyed.

“Well... alright. If you say so,” the young man quickly said with a nod. Stanford looked pleased at that, roaming through the room again to retrieve a few items that he handed to Dipper. It was Journal One, some other kind of gun device, and an old-fashioned walkie talkie.

“I have information about the spacecraft and the metal I need in the Journal, plus you’ll need this magnet gun. You can use it to travel quickly and safely through the ship, but watch out, it’s very strong so don’t point it at yourself.” Ford laughed, showing Dipper how to turn it on. 

“So how do I get into the ship?” Dipper asked, watching the older man’s hands working the magnet gun. 

“You need to climb to the highest point of the hill, where you can look at the cliffs. It will be right underneath your feet. You can use the magnet gun to open a hatch on top.” It was a brief description, but Dipper was more or less confident that he’d find it. It couldn’t be so hard to find a giant saucer, after all.

“Alright then. I’ll be back as soon as I’ve found what you need.” He huffed, placing everything Ford had given him into his backpack. He was a little disappointed that he couldn’t just start the search for his sister, but decided that trusting Ford was this was his best option for now. 

\---

Reaching the top of the mountain that Stanford had described was harder than Dipper had expected. In addition to the weird reddish lightning that came from the sky, there were several fallen trees that littered the forest floor and blocked all easily accessible paths. It was only when he was already halfway there that he thought of asking Ford about the weird properties of this place and he facepalmed. How could he forget asking such essential questions?

Why was the sky permanently red and the town abandoned? What exactly was the magic shield and what was it supposed to keep out? It hit him, that maybe it wasn’t aiming to keep something out… but rather someone - or _something_ \- inside. Could this be referring to Bill? Dipper sighed in frustration as he climbed over yet another tree, landing not so gently on the other side. Pain shot up his feet and he cringed, leaning back against the large log to take a moment and let the pain subside. He needed to be more careful. If he broke something out here, who knew who or what would find him first. 

Dipper didn’t linger too long, because he started to feel as though he was being watched. Out of the corner of his eyes he could swear he saw eyes opening on the trees, but whenever he looked, it was nothing. He laughed nervously as he started walking again. Just his paranoia acting up again. By now he should be used to weird hallucinations, and yet the vibe of this place got him every time. 

Eventually he reached the top, glad to be mostly out of the denser part of the forest. While walking, he noticed that his steps were making muffled metallic sounds on the ground and he figured he was walking on top of the saucer right now. He took a deep breath and allowed himself to relax, excitement finally starting to return to him. He was about to enter a real spaceship! That was something he’d always wanted to do. Sure, he was feeling a little guilty about abandoning his search for Mabel to explore a spaceship, but he reminded himself that this was all for her. Ford would know how to help him search better anyways. 

One failed attempt at using the magnet gun later, Dipper had managed to open up the latch that Ford had been talking about. He rubbed his nose that was still hurting from him hitting the ground a minute earlier. The gun’s pull was really as strong as he had been warned about.

Looking down into the hole, Dipper felt his heart beating faster in anticipation. There was a ladder descending into the spacecraft, but what struck out to him was the fact that the walls were in a triangular formation. It seemed like a small, unimportant detail, but it was usually known that circular building structures were usually more stable. The young man shrugged it off and started climbing downwards. When he was about halfway down the ladder he had to grab the flashlight he’d brought because it was getting too dark to see. It was one of the wearable kinds that he could place on his head. While doing so though, he almost slipped, and let out a panicked yelp before gripping the bars of the rusty ladder tightly, trying to stop himself from shaking.

Not too much later he finally reached the bottom, his feet hitting the ground with a metallic clang that echoed throughout the entire structure. Judging from the echo, Dipper concluded that the ship was enormous. How was he supposed to find this specific metal in here? The entire thing was built from some kind of metal after all! 

His footsteps were loud enough to make Dipper feel as if he was giving his position away, even though Ford had said this place was absolutely safe. Yet again, he couldn’t help but feel like he was being watched. While exploring the long and winding hallways, he noticed weird chalk drawings on the walls. Cold sweat ran down his back when he noticed little drawings of Bill in his original form and he wondered who would leave those in here. There were eyes drawn everywhere the deeper into the ship he went and it didn’t help his paranoia. He could swear that he was hearing very faint whispers, even though the ship was almost completely silent, apart from himself. 

“Shut up!” he yelled at one point, but then shook his head. He was just imagining it! His mind was playing tricks on him. In complete silence, the brain would make up some sort of noise in order to imitate the missing sense, and that was probably exactly what was happening here. Not to mention that the shadows forming on the walls, created by his flashlight, were making his brain even more stressed. A completely logical explanation! Dipper knew exactly how all of this worked.

Did it make him feel better, though? Not exactly.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost didn’t notice that the ground was about to stop existing underneath his feet. It was only when he almost walked right over the edge of a steep drop that he was pulled back into the reality of the situation. Dipper yelped as he tried desperately to regain his balance. Just as he was tipping over, someone grabbed the collar of his jacket, yanking him back quickly before he could fall over the edge. 

Dipper’s heart was beating rapidly, adrenaline pulsing through his bloodstream as he shone his light in front of him. Large columns reached from the ceiling into the abyss below, making it obvious that there was more down there.

“Yeesh, kid. That’s definitely the fastest way down there, but not the smartest idea you’ve had.” 

Dipper made a face at the second voice, speaking from behind him and part of him wanted to ignore it. But that was kind of impossible. Instead, he turned around and glared at Bill who now held up a hand to shield his eyes.

“Could you point that OBNOXIOUS accumulation of electromagnetic radiation somewhere else but my EYES?!” Bill hissed. Dipper groaned, but took the flashlight off his head and instead pointed it at Bill’s chest, so it wasn’t blinding him completely. Why did he care anyways? Maybe only because Bill may or may not had just saved his stupid pointless life.

“Why, THANK YOU, Pine Tree. So, what exactly are you doing in my new makeshift home?” The demon asked, then continuing, “I’m pretty sure walking right off that ledge there is not what you’ve come down here for, since the Gravity Falls cliffs would make much better scenery to end your miserable excuse for an existence.” Dipper noticed Bill was tapping his foot as if he was nervous or impatient.

“I’m looking for something,” he replied dryly. Dipper wasn’t exactly in the mood to speak with the demon he was set out to capture. In fact, this was incredibly awkward, and he was still standing way too close to that edge.

“I see, the old Fordsy got to you, didn’t he? What FLATTERY did he tell you about me? That I am the mastermind of all evil? That I eat babies for breakfast? That I want to blow up your miserable chunk of matter that you call EARTH?” Bill laughed, hands resting on his hips.

“Shut the fuck up, Cipher, or I’ll push you down there! I bet you can’t fly looking like this!” Dipper snapped. He had never been the most aggressive person, but Bill was pushing every single wrong button. 

Bill got quiet, a sadistic grin spreading across his face. “Oh? Will you? Are you saying you’re a killer now, Pine Tree? I’M SO PROUD!” the demon exclaimed and Dipper flinched at the volume.

“What? No- No, I’m not,” he stuttered, biting his lip. He didn’t think Bill would throw something like that in his face. “Just get out of my way!” he quickly added, regaining himself. He tried pushing past Bill, but the demon grabbed his wrist again, pulling him way too close for comfort. Dipper struggled but the more he did, the deeper Bill dug his fingernails into his skin.

“You come into MY SPACESHIP and threaten to push me OFF A LEDGE and then expect me to let you go? Just like THAT? Hah! You humans sure are something. You’re just as entitled as the old sixer. He’s rubbing off on you fast.” Bill hummed, resting his chin on Dipper’s shoulder, making the young man’s skin crawl.

“What the hell do you want from me?” Dipper snarled, trying unsuccessfully to lean away from Bill.

“Oh, just a small FAVOR. You know, after I just saved your life and all. Unless you didn’t want me to!” Bill chuckled.

“You’re fucking insane if you think I’m helping you out after what you did to my uncle. Now you better let me go or I _will_ hurt you.” Dipper reached for his magnet gun, hoping Bill wouldn’t notice. He needed to get away from him, one way or another.

“Wait, what DID I do to your uncle?” Bill sounded confused, but Dipper didn’t listen. It only took him a second to spin around, push Bill off and run to the ledge. Bill let out a surprised gasp when Dipper jumped off, down into the darkness. He quickly activated the gun, pointing it at one of the pillars and hoping to whatever god there was that it was metal. He felt himself being pulled towards it and managed to slide the rest of the way down. His feet hit the ground hard and he cried out, falling to his knees.

But he was still alive! After some test steps he also found that he hadn’t broken his feet. His heart was definitely still pounding in his ears though, even when he realized that he’d escaped Bill successfully.

“Dipper! Are you alright? If you’re dead, I swear I will find what’s left of your soul and make sure you have the worst afterlife ever conceived!” Despite all the stupid things Bill had said, Dipper almost felt like he sounded worried, even if his voice was faint from above. He let out a huff and rolled his eyes. 

“Fuck off!” he yelled back and started wandering off, away from the ledge and deeper into the spaceship. 

He could hear faint laughter from above that gradually started to die down. 

And he couldn’t help but wonder why Bill had called him by his name.


	7. Arc I: Shooting Star IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish I could add more pictures in this story to make it even more interesting ahhhh
> 
> Kudos to my editor: [emberglows](http://www.emberglows.tumblr.com)  
> 

  
**User:** ShiningStar  
**Date:** Saturday 29th July, 2021

Haha, remember how I said I was done with this? Well, seems like I was wrong. I don’t really know if any of you are even keeping track of this, but at this point I don’t really care that much because I’m just using this as an online diary now. Shout out to those of you who still bother reading! If you’re even real. No, I have not gone insane! ...Or maybe I have. Quite frankly, I’m not sure anymore.

Uhm, I really don’t know where to start or how to say this but, I guess I’ve made a new friend? Now, that in itself wouldn't be so shocking. I’m awesome! Of course everyone wants to be my friend. It’s just that… none of my friends had three angles yet. And I mean literal corners. Yeah, I’m talking about triangles. Sorry, I’m repeating myself. I’m kind of freaking out. I think he’s gone now and not watching me anymore but I could be wrong. He’s been stalking me for an entire week after all, why would he stop now?

Ok, I’m getting ahead of myself and probably not making any sense. So, you guys know the Eye of Providence? You know, the little pyramid on our dollar bills with the one eye. Illuminati confirmed, haha am I right? I’m right. I’m more right than I ever wanted to be. 

Everything started about three days ago. Like I said, I wanted to forget about the whole experience in the woods and did my best to go about my day as usual. But I couldn’t control my dreams. I’ve been sleeping badly ever since I went to this stupid haunted place. I can never really remember what exactly I dreamt, but I know that my dreams are always in black and white. That never used to be the case, as odd as that sounds. Maybe it’s just a small detail, I know dreams can be a complicated matter, but considering what happened, I think these details might be important.

Apart from bad dreams, life seemed to be normal for a while. I did feel like I was being watched, but I supposed that was because of the dreams and the trip, so I shrugged it off. Well, now I have proof I’m actually being watched. More like stalked tbh. Not by a human or anything, no. By a - and I couldn’t make this up if I wanted to - floating little triangle guy. Yes, the one from the dollar bill. He even said his name is Bill.

Oh man, I feel so stupid writing this down, no one will believe me. I tried to snap a picture of him, but he wasn’t visible in it :( I’m so sorry. But I will show you a little drawing I made of him. 

 

He looks kind of cute like that! But I’m still thinking I might be losing my mind here. On Thursday I went to school as usual, but when I opened my locker to get my textbook, this guy sat on the old journal I received the other day (he said, he gave it to me). At first I thought I was still dreaming and pinched myself, but nope! He was still there. Ah, he’s about as big as a nacho - as yellow as one too haha, I should just call him Nacho Man - and he can float around. He talks through telepathy I think, because when he spoke I heard him clearly in my head while no one else around me seemed to notice a thing. Maybe he’s only visible to me, too? That doesn’t help my case of NOT being insane, ugh. Anyways, Bill said he can’t stay in ‘this world’ for too long because it takes him too much energy to speak to me or show himself. I didn’t quite get it but it was obvious that he seemed exhausted, even for a living triangle. 

For someone that only has one eye and no mouth he’s pretty damn expressive. You know, I’m thinking the ‘I’m insane’ theory is pretty logical. I mean, maybe I have some kind of disorder that makes me hallucinate now. I think I could live with that, as long as I dream up funny things like this guy. 

Alright, so finding a talking triangle in your locker is crazy enough as is, but it gets worse. He returned on Friday and stayed a bit longer this time, so I had to hide him in my sweater pocket, just to be safe. He said some things that freaked me the hell out, though. Of course I know I can’t really trust anything he says because he’s most likely just part of my imagination, but he kept talking about some kind of supposed brother I have. He also doesn’t seem to like my ‘brother’ very much, because he keeps insulting him with a passion. It’s funny. But the problem is I know I’m an only child! There’s no records of any lost brother I might have had, so what he’s saying isn’t making any sense at all. Then again his existence doesn’t make sense either and yet, here we are. 

Sometimes he talks in riddles. Especially when he seems upset. Or in dead languages that don’t sound as if they come from this planet at all. Could I really make up something like this? ...I honestly don’t know.

I haven’t told Paz about any of this. She’d probably break up with me for being a crazy ass bitch. That thought is depressing, MOVING ON!!!

  


Alright so - wait, what is happening…

**Eloo39:** _I SEE YOU’RE STILL GOOD AT RUNNING FROM YOUR PROBLEMS AND WORRIES, SHOOTING STAR!!!_

Oh great. Now he’s got access to my keyboard?! 

**Eloo39:** _CLOSE! MORE LIKE ACCESS TO THE ENTIRE WORKINGS OF THIS FABRICATED WORLD. BUT NOT FOR LONG, SADLY. THAT BITCH IS ONE STEP AHEAD OF ME EVERY TIME._

Look, Bill, or whatever. This is getting way too freaky!! Quit interjecting the things I write. The weird ass codes in my previous posts were already unsettling enough, now people will just think I’ve completely lost it. 

**Eloo39:** _IT REALLY DOESN’T MATTER BECAUSE THE PEOPLE HERE CAN’T THINK IN THE FIRST PLACE. IT’S CRUCIAL THAT YOU- OH, FOR NYARLATHOTEP’S SAKE! GOTTA DASH, SEE YOU LATER, KIDDO._

 

...Well, that happened.

I don’t really know what exactly that was, but I swear I will find out. Considering the fact that this guy won’t leave me alone anyways, I don’t have much of a choice. I’ll spend my time trying to gather some information on him, if I can even find any. I guess that’s it from me for now.

Whatever you decide to believe, I still thank you for reading this. You’re all DA BEST!!! *plasters a sticker on your forehead*

See you!


	8. Arc I: Pine Tree IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a ride I swear to god. I even made myself scared while writing one of the scenes omfg I'm a baby. I am pretty proud of that chapter though, let me know how you like it :3c
> 
> Kudos to my editor: [emberglows](http://www.emberglows.tumblr.com)  
> 

His footsteps echoed throughout the darkness as Dipper followed the long winding passages deeper into the belly of the ship. Now that he knew that Bill was living in this place, he oddly enough felt less creeped out. He had an explanation for any weird noises now, or feelings of being watched. Plus, now he had the advantage. He wondered if Bill had any idea what Stanford was planning in the first place, but most of all he didn’t understand why the demon was trying to act all buddy-buddy with him. The last time he’d had contact with him had been when he was twelve and the creature had taken control of his body, making him ache for days. 

The experience of being outside his own body still traumatised him to this day. It wasn’t as bad anymore as it had been a few years ago, but now and then he still felt like he was losing grip on reality. Truth be told, he had never really known much about Bill and his ultimate goals until Stanford had explained it to him and yet the Bill he had met twice now didn’t act at all like the evil person Ford made him out to be. Of course that could all be a trick.

Dipper facepalmed, cursing himself for being so stupid. Why should he believe a demon over his own uncle?! That was ridiculous. 

Instead of overthinking everything, Dipper continued down the hallway, starting to believe that this would never end. Just as he had finished this thought, he ended up in a bigger room. The radius of his flashlight wasn’t really that big, but he could still manage to make out shapes of objects farther into the room. He swallowed and stepped further inside, surveying his surroundings. This place appeared to be some sort of storage room, although there were a few consoles as well, probably to monitor the work down here.

Dipper almost tripped over something and let out a startled noise when he saw that he had stepped onto what appeared to be the carcass of a weird creature. Probably one of the aliens. The body was long decomposed, leaving only a skeleton. After calming down a little, he fished for his cellphone, taking a quick photo. A small smile crept onto his face as the excitement of exploration returned to him and he hurried onwards, gazing around carefully for anything that looked like what Ford had described.

Eventually he pulled the journal out of his backpack, flipping through the pages until he had found the one that Stanford had marked. The metal he was looking for seemed to be some kind of hexagon-shaped plate. Humming, Dipper placed the book back into the backpack and continued to search. The air deep down here was lacking oxygen and he needed to get out as soon as possible. 

Dipper reached another console that was full of dust. He pressed one of the buttons, just for fun, only to end up coughing as the dust swiveled through the air. He staggered backwards, tripping over something again and landing right on his butt. He cursed and shone his light at the thing he had tripped over. His eyes widened as he saw a stack of the plates he was looking for. Well, that had been easier than he’d hoped. Just as his hand reached out to take one, he heard footsteps entering the large hall. He reacted quickly, turning off his light, hoping that Bill had not yet seen him. 

As quietly as he possibly could, he took the plate and stuffed it into the sack, next to the book. He tried to listen to the steps that were still wandering around the room. Bill seemed to be taking his time and it sounded more like he was taking a stroll than looking for him. Dipper could not see a single thing in the pitch black darkness, but a feeling of terror settled in his stomach.

Was this really Bill? Of course the demon was the only person that could possibly be down here, but somehow the way this person moved didn’t seem to match the other’s personality. Without changing the tempo, the footsteps grew louder and Dipper realized the person was clearly walking in his direction. He pressed the backpack to his chest and curled up against the console, hoping that whatever this was had not noticed him. And yet he could tell they were clearly making their way towards him. The footsteps were all he could hear until he was sure he heard deep breathing as well... This was definitely not Bill.

The image of the alien skeleton lying on the ground sprang into his mind and in the darkness he imagined the creature crawling towards him, bones somehow clearly visible against pitch blackness and sharp teeth reaching for him.

The footsteps stopped. 

Dipper pressed a hand to his mouth. He felt the presence of something just a few feet away from him and his mind made up the wildest of silhouettes, his heart beating so loud he was scared the creature would notice. 

Dipper could still hear the breathing, not loud enough to be identifiable, but definitely not part of his imagination. In this moment, he desperately wished he would just pass out. 

Then the footsteps resumed, moving away from him. Whatever this was, it was leaving in a different direction. Dipper kept sitting in his position until he was absolutely certain the creature had left the room again. He wanted nothing more than to get the fuck out of this wretched place. He desperately wanted to blame this one on Bill too, but that was out of the question. The young man had no desire to find out what other creatures lived down here, though. He took a deep breath and finally moved, turning his flashlight back on. No one was there. 

Dipper let out a sigh of relief and quickly made his way over to the entrance where he had come from. Just before he reached it, there was a beeping noise to his right. He spun around only to see a giant sort of drone come towards him. It was shaped like a sphere with a glaring red triangle on the front. 

Dipper felt his heart race again and he took a few steps backwards as the drone floated towards him. The sound of someone running through the hallway joined the beeping of the alien machine.

“You activated the goddamn security system, how careless can you be?!” At the voice, Dipper felt almost relieved that it really was Bill this time. Only _almost_ , though. 

Before he could reply, the drone opened and four long cables reached out, wrapping around Dipper’s wrists and waist. He was effectively lifted up in the air, despite his best efforts of struggling. He looked down at Bill, panic filling him once again. For a moment, Dipper could’ve sworn he saw fear flashing in the demon’s mismatched eyes, but then his expression turned into determination. Dipper yelped when he noticed that he must have dropped his backpack at some point because Bill was picking it up from the ground now. It must have slipped off his shoulder when he’d been pulled up into the air.

“Get your hands off that!” he screamed, fearing that the demon would use the contents against him at some point. There were more pressing matters to worry about right now, though. The drone had pulled him inside itself and he was trapped in a translucent ball that now began to fly through an opening in the wall. _Shit!_ He pressed his hands against the glass, trying to see if it opened, but it didn’t budge. By the time he turned around, he saw Bill running into a different hallway, probably leaving him to die. 

He was jostled around as the drone flew through the ship at a high speed, and he felt as though he’d be sick. Bill had said something about a security system? How had he activated it? He’d done nothing! Except… pressing a button. He groaned and curled up, covering his face with his hands. This was it. He was useless. He couldn’t save Mabel - he couldn’t even save _himself_ \- let alone be of any use to Stanford. 

The drone entered another large room, steering directly towards a weird metallic looking pod in the wall. Just as Dipper was sure they were going to crash into it, the drone almost melted into the pod, attaching itself to it. Dipper’s heart sank as he turned around, staring into the room as a few numbers were projected into the air... A countdown. The pod seemed to vibrate and Dipper knew that it was another tiny spaceship. In that moment, Bill entered the room, wearing the backpack and with the magnet gun in his hand. 

“What is this thing?!” Dipper yelled, once again trying to break the glass, but only managing to bruise his hand instead. 

“It’s a prison drone, you stupid meat sack! You’re gonna be launched off into the endless reaches of space. Or, I dunno, shatter into a million tiny pieces once the drone hits the goddamn barrier! Hah, that’d truly be an amazing way to die, don’t you think?? Too bad I still need you! So no dying on your agenda today,” Bill shouted, an amused grin on his face. 

Dipper felt his hands starting to shake. Either he was going to be lost in space, shattered into pieces, or Bill would use him for god knows what. None of those choices sounded like an actual good option. 

“The best thing is, you’ll owe me after I save your ass! Technically I already did that earlier but you’re so in denial, I bet you already forgot about that,” Bill continued.

“I’m never going to help you, Bill!” Dipper screamed, but Bill just shrugged. In retrospect, saying something like that didn’t further the chance of the demon actually helping him, but Dipper wasn’t ready to ask Bill for help. 

Suddenly the counter reached a number that might as well have been a zero in alien language. The pod vibrated more and then it left the docking station, while a latch in the roof opened up. Dipper could see the dark red tint of the sky, which would most likely be the last thing he’d see. Just as the pod started to position itself, Dipper heard a loud clanging noise and he jumped a bit. Before he could turn to see what it was, the pod took off. The rebound was so strong that he was thrown against the wall of the pod.

Blackness swam across his vision. The last thing he felt before he lost consciousness was the feeling up speeding upwards into the red sky. 

\---

Dipper stood in the middle of a forest. The trees were giant redwood trees; the ones he knew surrounded the Mystery Shack. The world was gray scale and there were no stars or other lights in the sky ahead... Just dark clouds. Dipper recognized this place as the mindscape; he’d been here a few times before. He had managed to enter this realm after taking some of his medications for a while, but of course the only reason he even knew what kind of power this place had was because Bill had once tried to invade his uncle’s mind. 

The fact that Dipper had managed to actively enter his own mindscape a few times had freaked him out. Usually humans weren’t just able to do that. Or, if they did, they didn’t really know what exactly this place was.

This forest was different from his mindscape, though. The location in his mindscape resembled more his house in Piedmont, with a few aspects of the Mystery Shack implemented. But now, he was smack in the middle of the forest, with nothing but darkness waiting behind every single tree.

Maybe this was limbo? Had he died and now he was stuck in this place? The thought filled him with dread. He’d always thought he would find peace in death. But if this was it, then he was just doomed to live in fear and isolation for the rest of eternity. 

Dipper fell to his knees and sobbed quietly. He wished he had never come back. If only he could have forgotten about Mabel. If only he could’ve accepted that she was dead and he would never see her again. Maybe then he could’ve had a life. Instead he had to throw it all away. 

Something patted the top of his head and he could feel a warm presence. He slowly lifted his head, only to see the demon he hated so much floating in front of him. He was smaller than Dipper remembered. Not even bigger than the palm of his hand. Dipper felt too exhausted, too resigned, to swat him away. 

“Are you happy now?” he hissed, sounding bitter. The demon blinked and pulled his hand away. He didn’t speak, just floated away a bit. There were emotions in his eye that Dipper would’ve never imagined seeing from him, and he couldn’t quite make out what kind of emotions they were either. The demon closed his eye and swayed a bit, probably trying to convey the motion of him shaking his head. 

Dipper sniffed a bit, never taking his eyes off the golden triangle. He was the only warm looking thing in this otherwise dead and frightening world. And Dipper hated that there was no indication of a threat. After everything that had happened between him and the demon, now he was trying to manipulate him even more. 

“I will never trust you. I’m not that stupid,” he screamed, banging his fist on the ground. Bill just stared at him, sadness clouding his gaze. Why wasn’t he talking? Usually, the guy could never shut the hell up. Suddenly, he floated back towards his face and Dipper flinched, expecting to be slapped or worse. Instead, he just felt two tiny hands on his cheeks. Dipper sucked in a breath and bit his bottom lip. He felt warm, then heavy. His eyelids fell shut and the world faded. 

\---

His entire body ached. There was a throbbing pain in his head and his ears were ringing. When he tried to move, a sharp stab of pain ran up his left arm, originating from his hand, and he winced. He could hear fire crackling not too far away and above that noise two voices talking. No… they were _screaming_ at each other. Dipper couldn’t make out what exactly they were saying, but it didn’t sound too friendly. 

A groan escaped his mouth as he finally managed to push himself up, despite the pain. One of the voices faded and there was silence. Then, someone came rushing over to him and he felt arms wrap around his shoulders. The warm embrace he felt was as familiar as one could be. 

Slowly, he managed to crack open his eyes. Warm brown hair was the first thing he saw and he could feel the person hugging him tightly, pressing their cheeks together. Their shoulders were shaking a bit, as if they were crying.

“Oh Dipdop. You found me. I was so scared!” 

Dipper felt as if he was paralyzed. There was no doubt... It was Mabel. He knew, because he’d never forget her voice or the way her arms felt around him. Eventually, he moved and slowly wrapped his arms around her middle in return, burying his face in the crook of her neck. He felt her warmth and recognized her scent.

This was it. This was _home_. There were millions of questions forming in his mind, but right now he didn’t want to question any of this. 

All he had wanted was his sister back. Nothing else mattered at this point.

“Mabel… I’m- I’m so sorry,” he croaked, his voice feeling hoarse. She just hugged him tighter and he felt one of her hands gently running through his hair. 

“It’s okay, Dipper. It’s fine. We’re safe now. You don’t need to apologize,” she murmured and she sounded just as riled up as he did. Her voice had changed slightly, as she had grown older, but it still had the energetic and slightly high-pitched ring to it, as well as her familiar lisp. Dipper closed his eyes again.

“Yes. We’re safe... I’m so glad,” he mumbled, and they kept hugging for another few minutes before finally getting up and walking back to the Shack, hand in hand.


	9. Arc I: Shooting Star V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there, sorry for the delay! Life has been rough for me lately. I hope you enjoy this chapter, it was pretty fun to write!
> 
> Kudos to my editor: [emberglows](http://www.emberglows.tumblr.com)  
> 

  
User: ShiningStar  
Date: Tuesday 2nd August, 2021

Things have changed. I can’t really explain what exactly has changed, because nothing really DID but just... Everything feels different? I almost feel like I’m not the same person anymore. School is still the same as always, the weather is nice with a bit of rain here and there, Mom and Dad didn’t seem to notice anything out of the ordinary, either. I guess the only thing that’s really changed is that Paz is acting a little weird around me and it feels out of place. She seems more aggressive than usual. (Granted, she’s not the nicest person to be around, but that’s always been our thing. I still love her despite her flaws.) 

Bill‘s shown up once or twice, but only for a short time. He always seems extremely nervous for some reason, even if he tries very hard to pretend he’s a tough guy. But he’s basically a tiny floating nacho with a stupid hat and bow tie. It’s kind of hard to take him seriously. But he talks a lot about doing violent things to people, so I guess he has a lot of bottled up emotions. Maybe I should talk to him about it sometime. I know he’s trying to tell me something, but he just has to speak in riddles. I don’t get it! Sometimes I find a few codes lying around and I know they’re from him and then I’m left to decipher them. Ugh, that was never really my strong point. The other day he sent me a message saying ‘Sorry to burst your bubble’. Like, what? I’m so confused. It took me an hour to understand it by the way, ugh.

On top of that, today he left a letter in my locker that was filled with teeth!!! On each tooth there was a letter, I can’t believe this. BILL, YOU’RE SICK!!! Anyways, after about 9000 tries I finally got the right combination and it just said ‘Northwest Manor’. Am I supposed to visit my girlfriend? But why? I was there just three days ago. But I thought to myself, ‘Hey, whatever. Let’s do it!’ Because ignoring this won’t work. Bill’s going to make sure to annoy the hell out of me anyways and I don’t know what to do with myself. I feel like something is missing 24/7 and I can’t explain it to myself. I feel like Bill is trying to help, but it’s not doing much for me. I’ll keep you updated!  
  
  
  
  
  
User: ShiningStar  
Date: Tuesday 2nd August, 2021

Alright, this is definitely weird. I’m in front of Paz’s mansion but it looks… uhm... oddly vacant. As if no one’s been living in there for years. The paint is duller and in some places it’s even missing. The garden is completely overgrown and a few windows are broken. I don’t know what to do. This is impossible... It didn’t look like this when I was there last time. I don’t understand what is going on or why this is happening!!!

 **Eloo39:** BREATHE, SHOOTING STAR.

Bill! Where are you?

 **Eloo39:** NOT AVAILABLE TO GRACE YOU WITH MY ACTUAL PRESENCE, BUT I CAN STILL SEE YOU. AND YOU’RE NOT DOING A GOOD JOB AT KEEPING CALM, KIDDO. YOU GOTTA SLOW THAT BREATHING OF YOURS.

Well, what did you expect?! This is like the whole forest incident all over again. It makes absolutely no sense. And what do you mean, you can’t come here? You’re literally imaginary, aren’t you? Come on!

 **Eloo39:** I’M NOT IMAGINARY BY ANY MEANS, YOU NUMBSKULL. I SAID I’M A BEING OF PURE ENERGY, THAT’S NOT THE SAME THING, DUH! YOUR MIND, AS CREATIVE AS IT IS, COULD NEVER MAKE SOMEONE UP AS AMAZING AS ME! BUT MY POINT IS: YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN.

Geez, I know that’s an answer, but it only makes me more confused! Why did you want me to see this?

 **Eloo39:** I DIDN’T PARTICULARLY SAY I WANT YOU TO SEE IT, BUT NOW I DEFINITELY NEED YOU TO GO INSIDE. I SENSED SOMETHING CHANGED, BUT THIS IS NOT WHAT I EXPECTED TO HAPPEN SO SOON. 

You want me to go INSIDE?! No! I don’t want to!

 **Eloo39:** ARE YOU SCARED? MABEL PINES, CONFIDENCE PERSONIFIED, **SCARED**?

Stop being a jerk! Of course I am. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about what happened in the forest. I never wanted anything to do with these weird ass things! That’s not me!

 **Eloo39:** : RIGHT, IT’S NOT. YOU KNOW IT’S PINE TREE THAT LIKES TO DO THESE THINGS AND YOU ENJOYED TRACKING ALONG BECAUSE HAVING ADVENTURES TOGETHER IS OF COURSE LESS INTIMIDATING. BUT YOU NEED TO GO IN THERE ANYWAY BECAUSE YOU DON’T HAVE A DAMN CHOICE, SO SUCK IT UP.

I don’t know what you’re talking about! 

**Eloo39:** STOP COVERING YOUR EARS WITH YOUR HANDS - WE’RE LITERALLY HAVING A VIRTUAL CONVERSATION. THIS WOULD BE HILARIOUS IF IT WASN’T SO INFURIATING.

You’re the worst. Fuck you.

 

 

  
User: ShiningStar  
Date: Tuesday 2nd August, 2021

Okay, okay I can do this. For anyone who is not A GIANT JACKASS reading this, I’m sorry. You must probably think I’m nuts. But I swear the things Bill, or Eloo (I just figured out that’s a code for ‘Bill’... I can’t believe this. He’s such a troll.), writes is really not me. 

I did go inside. Well, I currently AM inside. I’m writing from my phone by the way, I forgot to mention this. Unlike last time in the forest I actually have internet access this time. Oh god, this place is so creepy. The lights are all off and dust covers everything. It looks as if no one has been in here for decades. The family pictures on the walls have the eyes scratched out, except for Pacifica’s. Vandals? Or something else? I’ve managed to calm down, sorry about that little outburst. I’m usually not that much of a scaredy cat, haha. It’s not like I dislike exploring, I just feel that it’s boring when you do it all on your own and so far, nothing in my life has indicated that supernatural things could actually exist, so this is kind of a first.

So far nothing scary has happened yet, but the whole atmosphere is enough already. So I searched the big hall and the kitchen, but so far it’s nothing but an abandoned house. Well, manor. Pacifica is filthy rich so they have this super huge mansion.

 **Eloo39:** DON’T YOU FIND IT’S KIND OF OUT OF PLACE HERE IN PIEDMONT?

Oh, there you are. I thought you were going to sulk for longer.

 **Eloo39:** I DO NOT SULK. I HAVE A MUCH HIGHER INTELLIGENCE THAN YOU. WHY WOULD I BE OFFENDED BY SOMEONE THAT CAN’T EVEN READ THE ULTRAVIOLET PATTERNS ON FLOWERS?

You were totally sulking. But whatever, if you say so. I never really thought about it. I mean, yeah, it’s a big ass mansion, but some smaller cities have those?

 **Eloo39:** YES, BUT THIS ONE DOESN'T BELONG HERE.

You don’t make it easy. I’m going to check out the attic, brb.

 **Eloo39:** YOU’RE SURE TAKING YOUR TIME, SHOOTING STAR.

OKAY, WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? Bill?? I saw something move at the end of the room! It looked like a humanoid and it vanished behind a big painting? I think! 

**Eloo39:** NOT ME. BUT IT APPEARS YOU’RE NOT THE ONLY PRESENCE IN THIS PLACE. SURPRISE!

Don’t ‘surprise’ me! You knew what I was getting into!

 **Eloo39:** OF COURSE I DID! I KNOW LOTS OF THINGS! NOW FOLLOW IT.

Why are you like this? You remind me of one of those absolutely useless NPCs in some of those quest games. Only this time I don’t have an internet guide to solve the riddle, uuuugh.

 **Eloo39:** CAN’T HAVE YOU CHEATING. AS MUCH AS I’D LOVE TO JUST EXPLAIN EVERYTHING, I FEEL LIKE YOUR BRAIN WOULD EXPLODE AND THAT’S NOT EXACTLY USEFUL TO ME. 

Ghost hunter Mabel here with the newest update on the mysterious phantom of the girlfriend’s house: Behind the picture was a secret room. Spooky! I found tons of MORE pictures, jeez. They have so many walls and yet still too many pictures to put up. And just like the pictures in the hallways, the eyes have been scratched out. Man, someone doesn’t like eyes.

 **Eloo39:** HORRIBLE. DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT TAKES TO REGENERATE ONE?

Pretty sure humans can’t do that, freak.

 **Eloo39:** RIGHT. I FORGOT YOU’RE IMPRACTICAL.

At least we’re not an isosceles. Ignoring the weird talking triangle entity, which is surprisingly not the weirdest thing happening right now, I haven’t found a trace of the person stalking me. But I did find my sense of humour again, so that’s a plus. 

There seems to be nothing out of the ordinary in the attic, so I’ll leave. 

Update: The atmosphere has changed again. I can definitely feel something watching me. Plus I think… the place got darker? The sun was shining when I was outside and technically the light shouldn’t have changed, but it did. It also got darker. I’m getting goosebumps.

Hey, partner, how about some uplifting comment?

 **Eloo39:** DID YOU KNOW THAT GRAVITY WILL EVENTUALLY KILL YOU? THAT’S WHY OLD PEOPLE LOOK SAGGIER AND WEAKER, BECAUSE THE HUMAN BODY CAN’T WITHSTAND THE CONSTANT GRAVITATIONAL PULL OF THE ROCK THEY’RE LIVING ON.

Thanks for the fun fact, Mr. Nacho. 

OH SHI-

 **Eloo39:** SHOOTING STAR!

Sorry, sorry! I’m okay!! Just dropped my phone. I heard a loud noise to the right and a cupboard almost fell on top of me, holy shit. My heart’s racing. 

Oh god, I hear footsteps coming out of the dark room to my left.

 **Eloo39:** TIME TO GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE, KID. THIS IS NOT SOMETHING YOU SHOULD FACE YET.

What! But I barely found anything!

 **Eloo39:** I MEAN IT. GET OUT!

No. I need to see what’s going on. 

**Eloo39:** WHY DO YOU PINES NEVER LISTEN TO ME?!

 **Eloo39:** SHOOTING STAR?

 **Eloo39:** MABEL! ANSWER ME!

 **Eloo39:** AGH!!


End file.
